


Negotiation of Terms

by grapehyasynth



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M, Married Couple, POV Patrick Brewer, Pet Names
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:08:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29051148
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grapehyasynth/pseuds/grapehyasynth
Summary: David told Patrick early in their relationship that he hates pet names. A visit to Patrick's hometown early in their marriage makes Patrick think otherwise
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 40
Kudos: 309





	Negotiation of Terms

**Author's Note:**

> in which i continue to not write the things i'm meant to be writing
> 
> this should probably go in my drabble collection but it's *almost* 1k and who needs rules/logic/standardization anyway? (*sweats feverishly*)
> 
> also happy 100 fics on ao3 to meeee
> 
> fishyspots had a pet name fic recently that ventures to the other end of the rating spectrum if you want to throw your eyeballs on that bad boy! 
> 
> thx to alldaydream and reymanova for feeding the ego of this idea, and also the ego of me

“So when you said you hated pet names,” Patrick says the minute they get up to their borrowed bedroom, and David freezes where he’s crouched by his suitcase, “you only meant from me, huh?” 

David’s head tips forward, his chin to his chest like he’s gathering his strength. When he stands and steps up to Patrick, who’s still got his back to the closed door, his lips are thin and his eyes are shifty. “No, I - I hate them in general,” he says, entirely unconvincingly. 

“Uh-huh. Because Grandma June-” 

“Grandma June,” David interrupts him, with sudden vehemence, “smells like the convenience store version of Chanel No. 5, and her skin feels like crinkled paper but she has the grip of a bodybuilder? So yes, when she calls me _sweetie pie_ or _darling_ , it just kind of _fits_ with her whole - her whole thing - and you know I can’t argue with a consistent personal aesthetic, so no, I don’t _hate_ when she does it-” 

“Don’t hate it?” Patrick asks incredulously, creeping his hands up David’s back, part tickle, part reassurance. “David, you _melted_.” 

David leans a hand on the door next to Patrick’s head, looking like he wants to sway right over and bury himself in Patrick’s neck, hide there until this conversation is a faded memory. “Melted is a bit much-” 

“It looked like your spine slipped right out of your body.” It had, it really had. “You looked like you were going to cry from happiness.” 

“Well, now I’m very embarrassed that all of that was happening in front of your family,” David mutters. 

“Oh, don’t worry, they were much more focused on my gross face when I look at you, I’m sure.” 

David’s mouth twitches. “Hmm.” 

“Hey,” Patrick murmurs, and he rubs the jut of David’s spine with the palm of his hand. “It’s okay if you don’t like endearments in a romantic context, or a sexual one-” 

“That’s not it,” David says, and it’s the way he says it, the _speed_ with which he says it, that tips Patrick off. 

“Ah.” Patrick works to contain his smile, knows how David flinches at vulnerability. “David, correct me if I’m wrong here, but it seems like you might actually really like pet names. Like, a lot.” 

David frowns and fixes his gaze on a point near Patrick’s left ear. 

“David,” Patrick presses. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it, but I _am_ your husband, and I feel like I learned something new about you today.” He hesitates, and maybe it’s playing dirty pool, but he knows his husband well enough to feel like this is the right move. “Babe?” 

David reacts like he’d hoped, like he’d reacted to Grandma June’s endearments but _better_ , his cheeks going a little pink, his head tipping back, his whole body relaxing into Patrick’s arms. 

“In my defense,” David says, and Patrick has to kiss the exposed underside of his chin, praise for being so brave, “when I told you I didn’t like pet names, it was, like, _very_ early in our relationship, and I didn’t know if we - if you-” David huffs and squeezes Patrick’s shoulders like he’s grounding himself with them. “It’s a lot, okay? It’s a lot to hear things like that from someone and not know if they mean it. People throw those words around casually and I’m apparently, I don’t know, hardwired to be very susceptible to them, so it’s - it’s easier to ask people not to use them than it is to try to keep myself from believing they mean it. Because historically, I do believe it, and they don’t mean it.”

Patrick blinks up at his perfect husband, processing it all. He gets it - he _gets_ it, in a way that tightens something in his chest. It’s a lot of power to give someone, David is saying. 

“With Grandma June,” David goes on, his voice a little shaky after the emotional outburst, “I believe it when she says those things. I don’t know why, because I’ve literally just met the woman, but I do. And I - when I told you, years ago, that I hated pet names, it was too early, I didn’t - I didn’t know if I could believe it from you. I wanted to. It was, like, the amount I wanted to that made it seem necessary to set up that embargo? But now I... now I know that you would - that you would mean it.” 

Patrick lets that sit in the air between them for a moment, wanting to recognize its import. “Does that mean, then,” he says finally, “that you’d be open to a renegotiation of terms? Literal terms, in this case.” 

“I-” He can see the second David decides not to hedge. “Yes. I - I think I’d - I think I’d like that? But maybe not in the room that is your dad’s office when we’re not crashing for the weekend?” he adds, glancing around at the shelves and filing cabinets. 

“That’s fair,” Patrick laughs, and he releases David at last, freeing him to start getting ready for bed. “And hey, if it helps, you’re welcome to call me Patty sometimes.” 

“No,” David says, way too quickly. “No, it’s best for everyone if we forget that that one’s an option.” 


End file.
